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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

A Chronic Immobilization Stress Protocol for Inducing Depression-Like Behavior in Mice
Published on: May 15, 2019
The orexigenic hormone ghrelin defends against depressive symptoms of chronic stress
Michael Lutter1, Ichiro Sakata, Sherri Osborne-Lawrence
1Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75390-9077, USA.
Abstract:
We found that increasing ghrelin levels, through subcutaneous injections or calorie restriction, produced anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like responses in the elevated plus maze and forced swim test. Moreover, chronic social defeat stress, a rodent model of depression, persistently increased ghrelin levels, whereas growth hormone secretagogue receptor (Ghsr) null mice showed increased deleterious effects of chronic defeat. Together, these findings demonstrate a previously unknown function for ghrelin in defending against depressive-like symptoms of chronic stress.
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